Crew cough up lead late, leave Toronto with draw

Saturday, August 16, 2025
By Kevin Rouch
krouch@cbussports.com

Crew's Hugo Picard plays in first match courtesy Crew

Hugo Picard played in his first match with the Columbus Crew Saturday at Toronto. The midfielder was acquired from French Ligue 2 side En Avant Guingamp in July. Photo courtesy of the Columbus Crew.

The Columbus Crew traveled to Toronto for a match Saturday. It was the first MLS contest for Columbus since falling in Orlando on July 25. The Black & Gold’s last three matches were in Leagues Cup play, all at home. On Saturday, the Crew scored in the eighth minute, but gave up a goal late in the second half for a 1-1 draw.

The Crew were without captain Darlington Nagbe, who was sidelined with a torso injury. Newly-acquired striker Wessam Abou Ali was unavailable as he recovers from a hamstring injury suffered in June at the FIFA Club World Cup. Midfielder Hugo Picard, acquired in July from En Avant Guingamp, saw his first action for the club.

Columbus got on the board first at BMO Field when Diego Rossi scored his team-best 13th MLS goal of the season in the eighth minute. Steven Moreira gained possession in the right side of the Reds’ box, then sent a pass toward the goal where it hit a Toronto defender. The ball caromed to Rossi, who settled it and punched it into the net.

Toronto evened the score with a goal in the 77th minute. After the Crew cleared a corner kick, Toronto were able to regain possession and send a long pass to the front of the goal where Anthony Vilsaint scored. It looked as though Columbus retook the lead three minutes later when Daniel Gazdag scored, but he was ruled to be offside.

After the contest, Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy talked about his team’s effort, “Today, the game was weird. The pace of the game was not so high; the grass was high so it was not easy. The game was a bit slow. I don’t know, it was a weird feeling. Like I told the players, I don’t know if we did a good game or bad game.”

The Crew added a point in the standings with the draw, putting them in a fifth-place tie with Inter Miami. Miami, however, has two matches in hand going forward. Cincinnati FC leads the MLS’s Eastern Conference with 52 points, seven ahead of the Black & Gold.

Next up for Columbus is a home match against New England next Saturday. The Crew beat the Revolution 1-0 back in March. New England is currently in the 11th spot in the East. Saturday’s match at Lower.com Field kicks off at 7:30 p.m.